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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tear — from crying
  5. date — the fruit
  6. last — to go on
  7. lean — to bend
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — final
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. last — finally
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wax — to grow
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tear — to rip
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com